Airbag modules or supplemental inflatable restraint systems have become common in modem automobiles. An airbag module typically comprises an inflatable cushion and an inflator within a housing. The module is installed in a desired position within the vehicle, such as the steering wheel, the dashboard, the seat, the A-pillar, and other locations. The inflatable cushion is stored in a folded position within the housing in fluid communication with the inflator. In response to an activation event or occurrence, a sensor or sensing device provides a signal for activating the inflator. The inflator then provides a supply of inflating gas to the cushion deploying it from the housing.
As more and more vehicles are equipped with airbag modules, other vehicle components have been modified to accommodate the use of such systems. For example, most passenger side airbag module systems are disposed within and behind an instrument panel, which extends across the width of a vehicle compartment. During assembly, a conventional instrument panel in a vehicle having a passenger side airbag module system requires a discrete door which covers an opening formed in the instrument panel for the air bag cushion to deploy through upon actuation of the airbag module system. This separate door is designed to open in response to the force of the expanding air bag cushion. In other words as the pressure in the air bag cushion increases, an internal force is generated within the cushion and as the air bag cushion expands with this force, the door selectively separates from a portion of the module and the instrument panel as the air bag cushion deploys while another portion of the door remains secured to the module during deployment.
Typically, the manufacture of an instrument panel involves forming an opening in the instrument panel proximate to the airbag module system. This opening is then covered by a separate deployable door of the airbag module, which is secured to the instrument panel and faces the occupants of the vehicle. Thus, the instrument panel itself is manufactured in view of the shape and size of the door and the door is separately manufactured and installed within the opening in the instrument panel.
One difficulty encountered with passenger side airbag module covers is a poor fit to finish in the vehicle's instrument panel in which the passenger side airbags are installed. For example, uneven airbag cover to instrument panel gaps and non-flush conditions sometimes occur simply because the covers are fixedly mounted or permanently secured to the airbag canister with no adjusting movement therebetween. Therefore, if the module must be moved or adjusted in order to secure it in its desired location within the vehicle the cover fixedly secured thereto also moves. In addition, and if there is no tolerance or play between the cover and the housing of the module movement of the module will cause movement of the cover, which may provide the undesirable gaps or non-flush conditions mentioned above. This is particularly the case if the cover is in a desired position with respect to the instrument panel prior to movement or adjustment of the module in order to secure to the instrument panel or structural beam of the vehicle. The undesirable effects may be further exacerbated if only one end of the module needs to be adjusted to perform the securement step.